Costa Rica Taking Action Towards Dengue Prevention

Costa Rica officials are taking action to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds, thus prevent the spread of dengue. Efforts have been under way since June 25, according to Costa Rica's Health Ministry, the Education Ministry and the Social Security System (Caja). Educational and health centers are being organized throughout areas of Costa Rica.

With support from the Pan American Health Organization, a month long social mobilization called “Dengue-Free Costa Rica” will encourage public and private efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.

Health Minister María Luisa Avila said in a ministry statement that the effort aims to identify and eliminate areas where the Aedes aegypti mosquito reproduce. This mosquito is responsible for transmitting the dengue virus, and reproduce in standing water. 

Education Minister Leonardo Garnier gave public school children homework assignment. To clean up water founds in pots and containers around their homes in order to disrupt the mosquito's reproductive cycle.

Costa Rican authorities have recently reported a significant increase in dengue cases. From Jan. 1 to June 22, 8,307 cases were reported. That's a 452% increase over the same period last year. According to the Health Ministry statement, there has been one death in Costa Rica due to dengue this year.

Avila warned that the chances of outbreaks of hemorrhagic dengue are higher now that three of the four types of dengue are present in the country. This is a more serious and sometimes lethal manifestation, increasing the risk of death from the disease.

Areas in Costa Rica with the highest dengue rates are Corredores and Buenos Aires in the Southern Zone; Carrillo, Abangares, Nandayure, Santa Cruz and Cañas in the northwestern province of Guanacaste; Aguirre in the Central Pacific region; Atenas, Alajuela Central and San Sebastian in the Central Valley; Pococí in the Caribbean lowlands.

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported yesterday on a late-May advisory issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that declared, “ For the first time in more than 65 years, dengue has returned to the continental United States.” The article went on to say, “Since August 2009, U.S. doctors have diagnosed 28 people with dengue, according to CDC. They had all caught it in Florida.”


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